Damage Formula — Add vs Multiply Test
Topic
I changed one stat at a time under identical conditions and measured how the displayed damage moved. The goal is to settle questions that usually live on feel alone, such as "does damage reduction add or multiply?" and "does boss damage apply in PvP?".
Overall conclusions
- Damage reductionMultiplies
Golden Mask 34% + Guardian mythic 15% = about 44% reduction, not 49%.
- ATK% · crit · boss damageAdds
The more you already have, the less the same +30% is felt.
- Target-type damageOnly one applies
A boss damage option does nothing against an Arena opponent (a player).
- Crit multiplierFloor 1.01x
No amount of crit damage reduction makes a crit weaker than a plain hit.
- DodgeMinus hit rate, then max 60%
Dodge 34% vs hit 34% nearly cancels out, and even 100% dodge still lets about 4 of 10 shots land.
- Mystling final damageCancels out
If both sides have the same value the effect vanishes; if only you have it, it applies in full.
Test conditions
- Hero resonance
- Alex 7★ · Mymu 7★ · Otta 3★
- Gear · runes
- Only the option named in each test; nothing else equipped
- Reference hit
- 100.0K (normalised)
- Crit damage
- 275%
- Ground damage
- 10%
- Boss damage
- 28%
- Method
- Same target, same setup, 5 repeats, average displayed damage
Test 1 · Damage reduction
With Golden Mask (34%) and a mythic Guardian rune (15%) together, damage dropped by about 44%, not 49%. Each extra reduction source does less than the last.
How I compared:Measured damage taken from a chapter boss with no reduction → Golden Mask only → Golden Mask + Guardian rune.
Reduction 0.0%
Reduction 33.8%
Reduction 44.0%
Reduction 49.0%
Formula
1 − (1 − 0.34) × (1 − 0.15) = 0.439 → about 56K
Test 2 · ATK%
The same ATK +30% raised damage by about 15% on an account with 100% ATK% already, but only about 7.5% at 300%. Once ATK% is high, other option types pay off more.
How I compared:Added an ATK +30% option on top of 100% total ATK% and on top of 300%, then compared plain hits.
| Existing ATK% | Before | After +30% | Gain |
|---|---|---|---|
| 100% | 200.0K | 229.6K | +14.8% |
| 300% | 400.0K | 429.7K | +7.4% |
Formula
(1 + 1.3) ÷ (1 + 1.0) ≈ +15% · (1 + 3.3) ÷ (1 + 3.0) ≈ +7.5%
Test 3 · Boss damage and PvP
A boss damage option did nothing against an Arena opponent. Only the one term matching the target (monster, boss, elite or player) applies, and against players only player damage (Demon Blood) counts.
How I compared:Added a boss damage +50% option, then fired the same plain hit at a chapter boss and at an Arena opponent.
The chapter boss rose about 36% rather than 50% because boss damage shares one bracket with ground damage 10% and the existing boss damage 28%.
Formula
Chapter boss: (1 + 0.10 + 0.28 + 0.50) ÷ (1 + 0.10 + 0.28) ≈ +36% · Player: the boss damage term itself is 0
Test 4 · Crit damage reduction
The opponent's crit damage reduction is subtracted straight from my 275% crit damage. But no matter how much stacked, a crit never became weaker than a plain hit.
How I compared:With 275% crit damage, raised the opponent's crit damage reduction 0% → 30% → 75% → extreme and measured one crit hit each time.
Multiplier ×2.75
Multiplier ×2.45
Multiplier ×2.00
Multiplier ×1.01
Formula
Multiplier = max(2.75 − reduction, 1.01) → 2.45 at 0.30, 2.00 at 0.75, 1.01 at 3.00
Test 5 · Dodge and hit rate
Dodge 34% against hit rate 34% nearly cancelled out and misses were rare. Even at 100% dodge, only about 6 of 10 shots missed.
How I compared:Swapped Goldfinger (dodge) and Gungnir (hit rate) combinations and counted misses out of 200 shots fired at me.
| My dodge | Opponent hit rate | Misses / 200 | Miss rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dodge only | 34% | 0% | 66 | 33.0% |
| Dodge = hit | 34% | 34% | 1 | 0.5% |
| Dodge ahead | 80% | 34% | 89 | 44.5% |
| Dodge 100% | 100% | 34% | 118 | 59.0% |
Formula
Miss chance = min(max(dodge − hit, 0), 60%) → 34−34 ≈ 0 · 80−34 = 46 · 100−34 = 66 → 60
Test 6 · Mystling final damage
With Fool 25★ on my side only, about 10% was added as-is; when the opponent had it too, damage returned almost exactly to baseline. It is an independent multiplier that mixes with nothing else.
How I compared:Compared plain hits with the Fool mystling 25★ (final damage +10%, final damage taken −10%) equipped on my side only, then on both sides.
×1.00
×1.10
×1.00
Formula
× (1 + my final increase − opponent final reduction) → 1.10 · 1.00
Per-mode observations — the starting stats differ
- Start
- All personal stats apply
- Observed
- Every player-target term is off. Boss damage and boss damage reduction are what matter.
- Start
- Personal stats apply
- Observed
- Extra damage reduction is added based on the higher of the two power ratings, growing with power. Multiplies with personal reduction.
- Start
- HP ×15, plus ATK/HP per fusion count
- Observed
- Same power-bracket adjustment as Arena. Fusion weights rise from season 4.
- Start
- HP fixed at 50,000, ATK at 200, plus artifact stars
- Observed
- ATK +25–60% buff by tier. Mythic artifacts add HP +18% per star, legendary +1.8%.
- Start
- HP fixed at 12,000, ATK at 3,000
- Observed
- ATK% and HP% are zeroed. Crit, final damage, reduction and the rest stay.
- Start
- Season talents only
- Observed
- Gear and rune ATK/HP are ignored. Crit and reduction use personal values.
- Start
- ATK/HP multiplier from rune score vs. recommended score
- Observed
- Rises in steps with no interpolation between brackets. Only runes and enchantments apply.
- Start
- ATK/HP converted from power rating
- Observed
- Map-wide adjustments such as HP +300%, attack speed +50%, bullet speed −60%.
Summary — how one hit is calculated
Putting the six tests together, one hit multiplies through the stages below. Stats within a stage add.
- AATKAdds
ATK × (1 + total ATK%)All ATK% from gear, runes, artifact sets and in-run abilities adds here. (Test 2)
- BConditional bonusAdds
× (1 + conditional bonus)Bonuses tied to target HP, own HP or distance. Otta and Helix skills are the usual examples.
- CDamage dealt multiplierAdds
× (1 + damage dealt%)"Damage dealt +N%" from buffs and battle terms. Enemy ATK reduction enters here as a negative.
- DTarget-type damagePick one
× (1 + one of target types + ground/air)One of monster/boss/elite/player, plus ground or air. Boss damage and player damage live here. (Test 3)
- ECriticalAdds
× (1 − P + P × M)P = crit rate, M = crit multiplier. Crit rate reduction and crit damage reduction are subtracted here. (Test 4)
- FDamage taken increaseAdds
× (1 + damage taken increase)Debuffs on the enemy: Ring of Agony, Griffin Armor Chaotic, Fool mystling add together.
- GFinal damageClamped
× (1 + final increase − final reduction)Comes only from mystling stars. Clamped between 0.2x and 5x. (Test 6)
- HReductionMultiplies
× (1 − reduction₁) × (1 − reduction₂) × …Golden Mask, Guardian rune, Demon King's Eye, Arena power adjustment. All multiply regardless of source. (Test 1)
The dodge check happens before this order (Test 5); a miss ends the calculation.
Where PvP artifacts enter
- Golden MaskDamage reduction 4→34%H ReductionMultiplies
- Guardian rune (blessing)Damage reduction 5/10/15%H ReductionMultiplies
- Demon King's EyeDamage taken from players −8→68%H ReductionMultiplies
- Demon BloodPlayer damage 8→68%D TargetAdds
- Protective BlazonPlayer crit rate reduction 4→34%E CritAdds
- GoldfingerDodge 4→34% (cap 60%)Hit checkAdds
- GungnirHit rate 4→34%Hit checkAdds
Demon King's Eye 15★ cuts player attacks to 0.32x; multiplied with Golden Mask 34% that is about 79% reduction, and the Arena power adjustment multiplies again on top.
How to apply this
- Reduction multiplies, so the first 30% matters most and each further source is felt less. If you already stack a lot of reduction, invest in offence next.
- Player damage (Demon Blood) adds into the same bracket as boss damage. If skills and buffs already fill that bracket, each artifact star is felt less.
- Crit damage reduction is subtracted, so enchantments, hero breakthroughs and expedition buffs stack straight on top of each other.
- Mystling final damage is an independent multiplier that overlaps with no other stat. Its relative value grows with your account.
- In Arena, higher power ratings cut damage taken on both sides heavily and make fights longer. That is why 60 seconds of sustained damage beats one big hit.
Check with the calculators
FAQ
QHow much reduction can I stack?
There is no cap, but since it multiplies it never reaches 100% and damage never drops below 1.
QDoes boss damage apply in PvP?
No. Against players only player damage counts; boss damage is treated as 0.
QCan crit damage reduction zero out crits?
No. The crit multiplier never drops below 1.01x.
QDoes Luck raise crit rate?
Not normal crits. It multiplies skill trigger chances and elemental crits only.
QDoes gear ATK count in Guild Expedition?
Base ATK is fixed at 200; artifact stars and the tier buff are added on top.
By Hotteok · Playing since Feb 2025 · 450 days
Every number and recommendation on this page is verified in-game by the author and kept up to date.
